CANNES: Tom Cruise received a special award and his film, “Top Gun,” opened the festival to rave reviews.  Movies are back in theaters in a big way and respect for American film at Cannes seemed to fly over the skies.  It was a story of overcoming all odds after the Big Shutdown of the last several years.   VENICE: premiered “Tar,” and critical response to star Cate Blanchette’s performance has never wavered from the competition for Best Actress.&nb...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Hello Aviators, actually earlier today Paramount led with “Good Morning Aviators” as they dropped a new poster and trailer for the long-awaited Navy ace flier sequel to the iconic TOP GUN. There aren’t enough adjectives for the much-needed adrenaline feel-good boost in the footage. But seat yourself for the ride, on this Tom Cruise 2.0 starrer, as David Ellison's Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films offer up a new teaser fo...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent The wait is over; today Paramount released the new faces to accompany original franchise frontier Tom Cruise. The notables in the air include: Miles Teller (WHIPLASH), and more with the following Top Gun handles. Miles Teller, Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, TGM from Paramount Pictures, Skydance & Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Teller is Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw; Glen Powell is “Hangman.” Lewis Pullman (...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent A voice-over in TOP GUN: MAVERICK announces “thirty plus years of service” to describe fighter pilot Tom Cruise as call-sign Maverick - and you could swear he’s describing TC’s film career since the first box office barn-burner, TOP GUN from 1986. Cruise, who turned 57 this month on July 3, was only 24 years old when the original milestone blockbuster, with Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan, blazed a path to the stars for this Syra...

Rocketman, Review: Messed-up multi-millionaire music-maestro Film-makers now need to ask themselves whether it makes good sense to churn out bio-pics with regular frequency. Does the genre hold enough promise to deliver quality cinema? In recent times, many of them are guilty of picking eminent personalities from films and music, with common traits, like troubled childhood, inability to handle fame and fortune, sexual mania or alternative sexual behaviour, and drug abuse. The phenomenon is co...

Mission Impossible-Fall Out, Review: “The greater the suffering, the greater the peace” Sixth in the TV series-to-big-screen franchise, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible is aptly titled Fall Out. Besides the threat of a triple nuclear fall-out, there are falls, and fall outs of/from all possible kinds, in the universe of CIA operative Ethan Hunt: Motorcycles, cars, trucks and helicopters constitute one bunch; land, water and snow are the nature division; CIA-spurned rogue orga...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent You could say it’s a sweaty little secret, but in ninety-nine percent of all enduring Hollywood blockbuster smash hits, inevitably some man will break into a sprint to save his life. Consider Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow as a running man, from himself and various Admirals, Captains, Dead Men, and “natives.” Recall the beach scene in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise where he breaks full tilt chased by cannibals, who us...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Oh, admit it, the team of OG Box Office Ballers Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in Universal’s new take on THE MUMMY slated for June 9 has definite possibilities, even if Russell Crowe is a wry scale-tipper these days, mostly divining water in indie films. Plus it’s an IMAX® hair-raiser. Tom Cruise, or TC to friends, is such a hot-button actor for his off-screen activities that it’s almost like a Kevin Bacon game of interconn...

Siraj Syed on how Jack Reacher 2: Never Go Back keeps running helter-skelter Produced by Tom Cruise himself, this second edition of the ex Military Police (MP) Major Jack Reacher (Cruise)’s exploits has three other actors in key roles: Cobie Smulders plays Virginia Military Police Susan Turner (the new head of Reacher’s former unit), Danika Yarosh co-stars as the 15 year-old, who (as the movie’s synopsis gets you to guess) may or may not be Reacher’s daughter. And ther...

Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, Review: Bond-Bourne amalgamation You couldn’t escape noticing that the Mumbai press preview of Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation was being held at the renovated Fun Republic. Two hours and eleven minutes later, you found out that the film was not about a 'nation', but about international rogues. That stated, for once, the expectations, unconsciously raised by a trivial similarity in the names of the venue and the film, were met. Inspiration for...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   “Hollywood Hack” – A fascinating book by Robert Kerwin, / Pine Street Press, By Adrienne Papp       1     “Hollywood Hack” By Robert Kerwin By Adrienne Papp There’s no question that we’re living in a celebrity-obsessed culture.&nbs...

A down to earth mans-man, actor Jeremy Daniel Davis is what leading men are made of. With a steely gaze, charming smile and all the charisma packed into his athletic frame that you can stand-he is a directors dream.Not only does he refurbish his own race cars, sings in his dad’s band, but likes to see chick flicks. Really. His healthy sense of humor and gusto for life have landed him in a string of big international films.When you first meet Jeremy Daniel Davis, the first thing you notice is h...

 Thursday, October 25---------It was quite a coup for the London Film Festival to snag the World Premiere of the hotly anticipated LIONS FOR LAMBS, the latest directorial (and acting) effort of the Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford. Heading an all-star cast that includes Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, the highly topical drama is Redford's pointed commentary on the zeitgeist of wartime America, the complicity of politicians and the press, and the indifference of the general public who are not b...

 Thursday, October 25---------It was quite a coup for the London Film Festival to snag the World Premiere of the hotly anticipated LIONS FOR LAMBS, the latest directorial (and acting) effort of the Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford. Heading an all-star cast that includes Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, the highly topical drama is Redford's pointed commentary on the zeitgeist of wartime America, the complicity of politicians and the press, and the indifference of the general public who are not b...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        August 10, 2007                   For more information, contact: Jamey Duvall, producer Movie Geeks United! E-mail: moviegeeksunited@yahoo.com                                                                                     John Ottman, composer of “The Invasion” and upcoming Tom Cruise film “Valkyrie”, on Podcast Show This Sunday   On S...

Thursday, July 12------Tom Cruise will be honored with a tribute at the Museum of the Moving Image's 23rd annual black-tie event in New York this Fall. The salute, set for November 6th  at the Cipriani in midtown Manhattan, honors the 27-year film career of the actor, producer and United Artists studio head. "Tom Cruise is one of the premier American actors of his generation," MOMI director Rochelle Slovin said. "Working with the great directors of our time -- (including) F...